SB NEWSLIN @ ALLBBS $NLIN.917
Amateur Radio Newsline #917 12 Mar 1995
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NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #917 - POSTED 03/11/95
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The following is late news about Amateur Radio for Radio
Amateurs as prepared from NEWSLINE RADIO scripts by the staff of
the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE, INC. -- formerly the WESTLINK RADIO
NETWORK. For current information updates, please call
Audio Version of Newsline
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Los Angeles (Instant Update Line)...... (805) 296-2407
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Electronic Hardcopy Version of Newsline
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GEnie (RTC Bulletin Board)............. m345;1
GEnie (File Library)................... m345;3
Dallas Remote Imaging BBS (DRIG)....... (214) 492-7573
In bulletin number 36
The Midwest Connection BBS............. (701) 239-2440
In bulletin number 6 of the ham radio conference
Delphi.....................In the ham radio conference
CompuServe/HamNet.................... HamNet Library 0
Internet...............In the rec.radio.info newsgroup
Internet FTP: oak.oakland.edu.........................
In archive: pub/hamradio/docs/newsline
Local BBS's............In the Ham Radio conferences on
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Some of the hams of NEWSLINE RADIO...
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and many others in the United States and around the globe!!!
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[917]
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(* Again, and as always, we thank you. This ends the *
(* closed circuit with Newsline report number 917 for release *
(* on Friday, March 10, 1995 to follow. *
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The following is a QST
A delay in the vanity call sign program, bad checks passed at a
hamfest and electronic fish all highlight Newsline report number
917 coming your way right now!
(*****
VANITY CALL SIGN FORM
There will be a delay in getting the vanity call sign program
underway. This is because the new Federal Communications
Commission form necessary for applying for a vanity call the new
Form 610-V will not be available until after May 1. Because of
this, applications for vanity call signs can not be accepted until
after the form is available. This, even though the effective date
for the new program to begin is March 24th.
Beginning May 1st, FCC Form 610-V may be requested by calling
the FCC Forms Distribution Center at 1-800-418-3676. Hams who
call the FCC to request the form before then will not have their
names recorded and it will be necessary for them to request the
form again, when it is available.
As an alternative you can send an Self Addressed Stamped
Envelope to ARRL-VEC at anytime. Write Form 610-V request on the
outer envelope and it will be sent to you as soon as it's
available.
The FCC says that it will make a public announcement of the
date of opening of the first gate to file a vanity call sign
application. Do not send in any forms until after that date is
announced.
(*****
EMERGENCY COMMENTS
The ARRL has filed comments on FCC notices of proposed rule
making concerning a proposed new Emergency Alert System in FO
Dockets 91-302 and 91-171. The League says that the EAS proposal
signals the Commission's intention to integrate broadcast alerting
concepts into local and regional emergency response plans, and
said that the Amateur Service is a logical partner in providing
emergency information to the public.
ARRL assert that Amateur Radio has a long history of providing
emergency communication. This, through the Radio Amateur Civil
Emergency Service and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. And
the national society says while the Commission proposal cites hams
as an auxiliary entity in emergency communication operations, the
reality is that the Amateur Service is a principal provider of
communication during disaster relief and other emergencies.
The League believes that Amateur Radio must be considered an
available resource at all levels of EAS organization. It notes
its memoranda of understanding with the American National Red
Cross, the Salvation Army, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the National Communications System, the Associated Public
Safety Communications Officers, and the National Weather Service
as basis.
The League suggests that EAS participants should be a part of
overall emergency planning, not just emergency communication
planning. It urges the total integration of Amateur Radio and
other radio services into the overall planning.
(*****
SECTION MANGER SPEAKS OUT
And speaking about ham radio in emergency planning, the ARRL's
new Section Manager for Alabama wants to see hams in that state
unite, regardless of whether they are League affiliated. Tom
Moore, KL7Q, was appointed Section Manager following the December
31st 1994 resignation of Ken McGlaughn (pronounced "Mac GLAWN"),
KM4JD. One of Moore's first actions as new Section leader was to
call a statewide cabinet meeting January 21st. During that
meeting, Moore paid tribute to the many hams who, 'though not
League members, contribute to the amateur radio service and to
their community.
Moore has a warning for hams everywhere. He says the grab for
valuable frequency spectrum by businesses with deep pockets will
continue to threaten amateur radio.
About 40 amateurs attended the cabinet meeting. Moore's term
as Section manager runs through December 31st.
(*****
RUBBER CHECKS
A ham radio con man appears to be at work in the mid-west
hamfest circuit. This, with a number of exhibitors at a recent
Missouri show duped out of new equipment paid for with bad checks.
The person passing the bad paper claims the identity of Frank
J. Margita (pronounced "MAR-GEE-TA") of Topeka Kansas, but that
appears to be a phony. This, because the real Frank J. Margita
passed away in Florida in 1992.
The con man is described as 40 to 50 years old standing six
feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. Witnesses say he has a
beard, is very knowledgeable about ham radio. He may claim that
he recently passed an Amateur Radio test and is waiting for his
call sign.
Among the items that the phony Frank J. Margita paid for with
rubber checks was a new Yaesu F-T 890 high frequency transceiver
bearing the serial number 211200762. If anyone tries to sell
you this radio or a new Midland 2 meter HT at a bargain price,
please contact Detective Bill Fisher of the Saint Joseph Missouri
Police Department at 501 Farron Street, in Saint Joseph, Missouri
64501.
(*****
STS-67 UPDATE
The SAREX Shuttle Amateur Radio ham station on board the
spaceship Endeavour has been working flawlessly, but the same
cannot be said for the scientific gear.
Just two days into a planned two-week astronomy mission, the
team of orbiting astrophysicists was struggling to point an array
of ultraviolet telescopes to the pre-selected celestial targets.
Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR told mission control the pointing
system was drifting all over the place.
The crew has had to manually point one of the three telescopes,
which are supposed to lock automatically on their targets using a
computer. Later, Mission Control reported that most of the
problems had been resolved with a change in procedures. This, in
time for the space scientists to go back and focus on lost
targets.
As reported last week, six of the seven Endeavour astronauts
have their ham radio license. These include Ron Parise, WA4SIR on
his second trip into space. With Ron are Commander Steve Oswald,
KB5YSR, Pilot Bill Gregory, KC5MGA, Mission Specialist Tammy
Jernigan, KC5MGF, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, KC5KII and
Payload Specialist Sam Durrance, N3TQA.
SAREX is being flown in configuration C on this mission. This
means its operational on both voice and packet. A record 26
schools from around the world are participating in SAREX with a
scheduled contact with the astronauts. Even more will be
listening in to the school student's question and answer session
with the astronauts.
(*****
IS FCC PLANNING TAX ON MODEM USERS?
N3GPU reports via packet that Baltimore radio station WCBM
carried a news story which says that the FCC is developing plans
to assess charges for modem users who pass data back and forth
with online services such as Compuserve, America Online, Prodigy,
and the like. The story went on to say that the proposed user
fees could be as high as $6 per hour, and would be charged by the
telephone carriers with FCC permission, as partial compensation
for the costs of long distance service deregulation. The WCBM
story concluded by saying that a similar effort by the FCC
several years ago was shelved because of the weight of public
comment against it.
(*****
HIGHER BROADCAST FEES
On the regulatory scene, Broadcasters and cable TV operators
may face hikes in FCC user fees to pay for 1995 regulation under
a new government proposal. VHF TV stations in the top 10 markets
would be required to pay $21,540 to the FCC, up from $18,000 a
year ago. VHF TV stations in markets below the top 10 would pay
between $5,950 and $19,075 for 1995 FCC regulation. UHF station
payments would range from $4,775 in the smallest markets to
$17,150 in the 10 largest markets. Cable operators could be
assessed 51 cents per subscriber, up from 37 cents in 1994.
Radio stations would be hit with higher FCC user fees as well.
The FCC proposal stems from Congress' ongoing effort to make
regulated industries pay for the cost of FCC oversight.
(*****
HDTV
The era of high-definition television has been a long time
coming to the United States but 1995 could prove to be a crucial
year for those championing the new technology. After years of
research and narrowly focused testing, a consortium of companies
is putting the finishing touches on a system that is likely to be
ready for its last go-round in the laboratory. If all goes
smoothly, a special advisory committee called The Grand Alliance
could recommend by late summer that federal regulators approve the
system as the U.S. standard for transmitting HDTV signals.
Alliance members believe that receivers could be available to the
public in late 1996 or early 1997. This the same time frame when
HDTV broadcasts would be available.
(*****
DX
In DX, reports from the Tokyo PacketCluster indicate that two
Laotian stations are currently active. XW2A and XW1BOD have been
mainly heard on 20 and 40 meters CW. The two station operate on
20 meters between 23:00 and 01:00 UTC and on 40 meters between
14:30 and 17:00 UTC between 21:00 and 22:30 UTC.
Also, several Japanese sources report that JH1AJT, who was
recently active from Bhutan hopes to make a return sometime this
summer. Reportedly, he has left all the rigs, antennas and amps
in A5 land and plans to go back again to activate the station for
a longer stay.
(*****
ELECTRONIC FISH-NAP
And finally, four men were charged in a scheme to poach
some electronic fish. That's right, we said fish as in large
mouth
bass. This, after some of the protected fish were tracked to a
commercial farm through electronic devices implanted by state
wildlife officials.
Prosecutors say the men illegally pulled more than 40,000
pounds of the bass from the Potomac River over three years. They
then sold the protected fish to wholesalers in the United States
and Canada.
But authorities were able to track the poached fish because
some had tiny tagging transmitters implanted as part of a study by
the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to track their growth
and movement. Fish and Game authorities were first tipped to the
alleged scheme by a Canadian inspector who saw a shipment at a
Toronto wholesaler. After getting the lead, Maryland detectives
took a receiver that monitors animal tag transmitters to a fish
farm, where they picked up radio signals coming from the breeding
ponds.
(*****
And for this week, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.
You can write to us at:
Newsline
P.O.Box 660937
Arcadia, California
91066
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